


Running on Half

by cranewave



Category: Original Work
Genre: Cinematic encumbrance limits, Gen, Tomboy, Tragedy, sibling-like relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-14
Updated: 2017-10-03
Packaged: 2018-12-02 04:12:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11501532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cranewave/pseuds/cranewave
Summary: Ash and his father are driving through a snowstorm, and see several cars off the side of the road. They crash, and Ash goes through the windshield, leading to the discovery that his best friend, Jack Elton, in a nearby crashed car.**Note: upon posting this, I said it was one of my best works. re-reading it, I have found it is not, and I am at some point going to go back and re-write it. After all, writing is a crucible.**





	1. prologue- the start of it all

My father and i were on the interstate during a blizzard. We had seen a few cars off the road, but so far were lucky not to be one of them. Until we were. The tires hit a patch of ice, and we spun out, me hitting my head. My seat belt snapped, and i flew through an already-cracked windshield as we came to a sudden stop in deep snow. I groaned, badly scratched up.  
“Ashton, are you alright?” my dad asked me.  
“Yeah dad, i’m fine,” i called back, “just a bit scratched up.”  
As i got to my feet, i saw a car not a foot from where i’d landed. It was upside-down, glass and blood everywhere. I took a moment to mourn any who had died in that accident. Poor sods.  
But wait! I recognized that car! I glanced at the license plate, and sure enough, it was the family car of one of my best friends, Jacqueline “Jack” Elton. Half-panicked, i grabbed the side of the flipped-over car and heaved. In my desperation, with adrenalin coursing through my veins like white lightning, the car seemed almost light, and i flipped it almost easily. Hurriedly, i forced the driver’s side door open, beginning my search for survivors. I found mrs. Elton, and checked her pulse. Dead. i scrambled over the crumpled hood to check the shotgun seat, and found mr. Elton. Quickly i checked his pulse. Alive, thank God! I yelled to my father: “Call 911! I found a survivor!” he also opened the automatic door of our minivan, which contained camping equipment, so that i had somewhere to put the survivors other than the snow. After placing mr. Elton in the space once occupying two car seats (long story), i scrambled to continue my search of the disaster-ridden SUV. Alex Elton, Jack’s twin sister, was found dead. Their older brother, John. dead. Then i found her.  
Jack was a tomboy. Biologically a girl, she spent almost all her time dressed as a guy. I had known her for a year and a half, but in that time we’d grown extremely close. I’d changed her life, she’d said, with my solid presence, steady competence, and uncanny ability to comfort her. And she had changed mine, helping me patch myself back together from the years i’d spent in public school, which i jokingly called Testosterone High.  
Jack groaned and opened her eyes, snapping me back to reality. “My family. Are they…” she asked, seeing she was the last one in the car, then blinked, and reached for the radio, loopy from pain. It croaked out “bad news for you, Sunshine,” lyrics from Pink Floyd’s In the Flesh. I punched it.  
“The radio was right,” i said, then groaned. “I can’t believe I just said that. I’m sorry, but you and your dad were the only survivors. An ambulance is en route, so you should make it. I think you may have a concussion, and you’re probably drunk from the pain. You’re a little cross-eyed.”  
“You have one too, i think. The concussion, i mean. There are like three of you,” she giggled deliriously, then asked “how many fingers am i holding up?” She shot me the bird. Never was very lady-like. Oh, well.  
“No comment. Here, let me get you out of there.” I scooped her up, bridal style, and carried her out of the wreckage just as an ambulance pulled up. Paramedics ran up with a stretcher, so i set Jack down.  
“Ashton!” mr. Elton called. I hurried over. “Yes, sir?”  
“Ashton, take care of my Jackie. Keep her secret, keep her close, keep her safe. Protect… her…” And with that, James Elton the Second perished.  
I don’t remember the ride to the hospital. I assume i was unconscious for most of it, as well as the first few hours i was in the hospital. All i know is that when i woke up, my maybe-concussion was gone and i wasn’t bleeding.  
“Hey, Ash,” my father called, getting up from where he’d been sitting. “I’ve got you some new clothes.” I was relieved to hear it, as i was only wearing a johnny. After finding i could stand with no problem, i quickly changed. “Thanks, dad.”  
“Ashton.” i quickly looked up. “Yeah, dad?”  
“What you did back there, i...i can’t believe it.”  
“Everything for the forgiven,” i joked. I always joke. It helps hide my pain.  
“Ash, your mother would be proud.”  
That caught me off guard. My mother had passed away when i was six years old. I missed her. A lot. Still do. In order to cover my surprise, i quickly replied “hey, i do what i can. Look, i’d should go check on Jack, help her get back on her feet.”  
“Okay, Ash. I’ll be here if you need me. Go get ‘em!” I walked out towards Jack’s room, my mind churning. A few minutes later, once i was completely lost, i realized that i didn’t know where my friend’s room was, or where i was for that matter. So i tried retracing my footsteps. Fortunately i was still in recovery, so there were only so many hallways that i could have walked down. I looked around, trying to find a familiar door or landmark. I saw the door to the recovery room where i had recovered myself. I walked back over.  
“Uh, dad? Where’s Jack’s room?” i asked sheepishly.  
“Really, Ash, it’s just next to yours. In the direction you didn’t go.” he gave me a ‘honestly’ look. I ignored it.  
“Thanks, dad.” i hurried out of the room and over to Jack’s. As i went to knock on her door, i heard sobbing. I knocked softly, and waited. I’d comforted Jack before, although not on anything so tragic. I knew that she usually needed a little time, but i didn’t know how ,long she had been up for.  
“Come in.” the muffled voice, seeming young and scared, was barely audible. I could hardly believe that it belonged to jack, but then she had lost her entire family in one fell swoop. I opened the door, and saw that Jack had not yet changed out of her johnny. I quickly glanced away.  
“Do i look bad? What’s wrong?” she seemed worried that something was wrong with her features, like she had a scar or something just as ugly.  
“You look fine. No scars or anything. And even if you were scarred, that wouldn’t cause me to look away,” i told her, “you just haven’t changed out of the johnny yet.”  
“Ah. such a gentleman. Always liked that about ya. So, what brings you here?” she pulled the blanket up far enough to make things a little less awkward, and gestured for me to come sit in the chair by her bed. She had obviously been up for a while, long enough to come to terms with what happened. Either that, or she was still delirious. My money was on the first one. She definitely still had her concussion, her eyes were still a little crossed.  
“I just wanted to make sure you were back on your feet, metaphorically, after what happened.” i said, going over and sitting down in the chair. At the reminder of why we were there, Jack started to cry again, and i felt a little guilty.  
“I-i... i can’t… i can’t believe that they’re gone. Mom, dad, john, alex, all gone. Gone and i was just giggling and joking and all happy, i feel awful. That they died and i- and i… Ash, i...” she choked out between sobs. I reached over to comfort her, patting her shoulder.  
“Hey, hey, look at me. Look at me. You were heavily concussed, dizzy as a dodo from pain and blood loss, and less than half conscious.” Okay, as pep talks go, not the most inspiring, but how do you convince a girl to get revenge on a patch of ice? “What i’m trying to say is you have nothing to feel guilty about. It’s a miracle you survived, and a miracle that i got to you in time to save you. Another miracle that the paramedics got to us quickly, and yet another one that you pulled through. We should call you Miracle Jack.” okay, there we go. That should rally her few remaining brain cells.  
“Wow. now i know that i’m not hallucinating someone else is you, Ash. You always say something less than encouraging or flattering or whatever, then manage to turn it around. Although miracles seem inexpensive if i got a package deal of four. Five, counting the fact that you once again managed to turn around a bungled pep talk. An’ you did survive going through a car windshield, so by that logic we should call ya the Miracle of Ash.”  
“Yeah, and- wait. How did you know about that?” i asked, confused. Dad obviously hadn’t been in here, and i hadn’t told her.  
“I asked after ya when i woke up. The doctors told me that you had saved me despite being thrown through the windshield of your car. I guess your dad told them what happened.” she explained, then added “so, you were saying?”  
“Just a thought. If i’m the Miracle of Ash, that’d make you the Miracle of Cheese. Anyway, so i think i could go to a laundromat and get your old clothes cleaned. I doubt we could check if anything survived the crash, and i’m not spending time shopping for you.”  
After a few more minutes spent talking to her, i left to go see if the hospital had a visitor’s laundromat area. They did, and i did a load of laundry, getting all the blood and gore off of both mine and Jack’s clothes. An hour later, i shifted the load to a dryer, glad that i had remembered to grab my backpack. My iPad was a nice time killer while i waited for the laundry, although i was getting tired of Puzzles and Dragons. Flappy Bird was long since exhausted, and Pokemon Go had walked into traffic the previous week. Once the laundry was done, i gathered it and brought it up to the room Jack was in. I dropped off her clothes, then went into my room, fishing my favorite hoodie out of the jumble, still hot from the dryer. As i moved to put on my hoodie, i heard a sound halfway between a swear and a shriek. I laughed as i realized that Jack must have discovered her jeans’ hot zipper. After i had my favorite Atomic Robo sweatshirt on, i went over to her room and knocked.  
“You decent?”  
“Yeah, come on in.” She called from inside. I opened the door to find her dressed in the ripped jeans and shirt i had found her in. Again i glanced away, this time taking off my sweatshirt and handing it to her. “You may want this. Your shirt’s kinda…”  
“Such a gentleman. It’s a wonder you don’t have a girlfriend yet. I’d offer, but…” she gave a gesture that most would find unimportant, but that i knew indicated our relationship. I treated her like a sister, although without the trying-to-kill-each-other part. Well, usually.  
“Yeah, i know what you mean. So, you hungry? There are a few restaurants in the area that we could go to, and i for one am famished.”  
“Aren’t you always? That’s one thing about you, you would eat in the middle of a gunfight.” I laughed. She was right, after all. Those who got in the way of my munching usually didn’t stay there. We headed out to tell my father we were both ready for lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cranewave here. that's one of my best works, so i felt i had to share it. i'm planning on adding more chapters to it, but i really don't know where the story's gonna go. as always, i love critique, and hope to use any i get to improve this story, so please write any questions and suggestions you have in the comments section. if you have any private questions, contact me at cranewave41@gmail.com


	2. getting set up

Eighteen months later, Jack followed me into her new home. My home. Our home, now. Jack was officially my adopted sister, although i didn’t treat her any differently. We had been so close for so long, we were basically siblings already. The only difference was that it had become official. The paperwork had been finished that morning. Jack had been staying with us for the past month, but it had become her home instead of a place she stayed. Predictably, i first went to the kitchen and got an apple, a banana, a peach, and what was left of my supply of that heavenly gift to humankind, chocolate. I used to have a lot more, but that was before the location of my stash had become public knowledge. Now i had a few squares left, enough for today, but that was it. As i sat and munched, Jack bounced around and laughed and twirled in joy.

"Ash, Ash, isn't this so exciting, Ash?" She leaped and twirled some more. Kinda over the top, really.

“Uh, Jack, you’ve been here before. This isn’t your first time in this house. You’ve been staying here for the past month, after all.” i said around my apple. She ignored me, instead going into a cartwheel that almost took her down the stairs to the basement. She stumbled, and i lunged out of my chair, grabbing her around the waist, keeping her from falling. It almost didn’t work, and i stumbled several steps, but we ended up fine.

“Whoa there, careful, watch the steps.” i said, mostly trying to cover up my protectiveness, “i take it you didn’t see them.” always joke, that’s one of my rules. Helps keep the pain out of my attitude.

“Saved me again. Such a gentleman.” she joked. As always. One thing that we have in common now. Although she had always used the gentleman joke. Similarly, i had always jokingly called her “sister,” and had often treated her like one. I spent some time chuckling at her joke, then let her go, only to grab her again. We hadn’t moved away from the stairs! I caught her again, and held her around the abdomen until she had found her footing, then let her go. She began to tip forward again, and i lunged to catch her, then stopped and chuckled when she caught the handrails and swung herself down a few stairs.

“Aww, ya do care,” she teased me over her shoulder. I just rolled my eyes, and went back up to the kitchen to continue eating, her giggles following me up the stairs. My protectiveness could be a bit embarrassing, but better than it not being there at all.

20 minutes later, she was asking about watching Tron: Legacy, so i called to my father “watching a movie, dad! You want to join us?” then when he replied “no” i went down to get the home theater set up. Despite it being my idea not to order the ‘overkill speakers,’ or to at least get a universal remote, i was the one who had set the theater up (overkill speakers included), calibrated the billion remotes (vcr, dvd, blu-ray, roku, 4k, and tv, among MANY others), figured out the wires, and knew how the whole thing worked. Thus, i was the only one who could work the thing. The fact that between my father, his son, and his adopted tomboy daughter our house was essentially a bachelor pad did not help with finding the right remotes for the job. Some days even finding the cabinet where they were stored could be a challenge. Two weeks ago, when Jack had first entered the movie room, she had immediately run up to the attic and gotten a large cardboard box and designated it the “food items and paper plates” section of the room. The box was fairly long, and tosses of hot wing bones, pizza crusts, and paper plates usually made it in. that was as much as Jack was willing (read: able) to get us to do. After the movie, she dragged me out for a bike ride, using my father’s old bike as hers.

We lived in the back streets of a neighborhood, and the traffic was mild to nonexistent, so biking was easy, not very dangerous, and i knew most of the people. For a motherless kid whose dad worked 7 hours a day, neighbors were important. Most of the kids in the network of streets were around my age, and had backed me up in fights, and in exchange, i had stood up for them against some pretty tough opponents. I saw Caleb Graham and his sister, Cassie, jogging together, and called out to them. Caleb jogged over, followed by his sister, and i slowed to talk to him. Jack followed my example.

“Heya, Ash. Who’s your friend? Is she gonna join us at school?” Caleb asked as we stopped to talk. He always asked a billion questions a minute, and today was no different.

“Hi, Caleb. Meet my adopted sister, Jack. Jack, this is one of my friends, Caleb Graham. Caleb, before you ask, no she hasn’t been my sister very long. Only about the duration of the afternoon, actually. And yes, she is joining us at school. As for me, i’m fine thanks.” I managed to say before he could start talking again.

“Nice to meet ya!” Jack piped up. “Who’s the little girl?” Cassie was about five, eleven years younger than the rest of us, and one of Caleb’s seven younger siblings. He also had three older siblings. I knew them all. The eleven Graham siblings got along amazingly well, and had basically claimed a lunch table for their brother- and sisterhood. In the brawl that was the lunchroom in a 13-grade school (the town we were in had only one school, and it was the size of a city block. The lunch room itself was about the size of a grade school, and had a restaurant’s worth of kitchens.) it was nice to know there was a friendly port.

“I’m Cassie,” the five-year-old piped up, snapping me out of my reverie. “I’m the youngest of the Graham Group, and i like you a lot. I just decided we’re going to be friends for a long time.” she giggled, and Jack smiled. Everyone liked the Graham Group, especially Cassie. It was impossible not to. The eleven siblings did almost everything together, and their de facto leader, Jason, the eldest Graham, took good care of them. Despite being the surrogate father of ten others, Jason was a nice kid, basically a gentle giant.

“Where is the rest of the Group?” i asked. “I owe Joey five bucks, and Rocco has that DVD that he borrowed from me. Not to mention i doubt Reid and Rita would let Cassie out of the house without at least three others.” I glanced around, half expecting the other nine to come around the bend in the road and swallow the two in their group.

“Today’s a rare split-up day.” Caleb piped up. “Josh, Joey, and Joel are playing video games together. Rocco is digging his way thru the attic. Jason is trying to figure out how to teach Ella fractions. Reid is trying to convince Rita that her hair isn’t out to get her.” the two of us chuckled at the image.

“Today’s a separation day? What’s the occasion?” i had to ask.

“Rita’s bad hair day. No one wants to get on her bad side. Sora’s gardening. Cassie and i are going to get ice cream from Mason’s.” at Jack’s questioning glance, Caleb explained “Mason’s is a neighborhood snack stand run by Mr. Mason. He does have a job as a web designer, but he sells stuff like ice cream and homemade cookies at the stand and has enough time between sales to do his job. It’s a very popular place. He even has some card tables and folding chairs that he puts in the shop for kids to sit in.” Caleb did a good job of describing Mason’s, but managed to leave out the fact that Mrs. Mason and Nana Mason made lots of different kinds of pastries, and lots of them, too. They were excellent bakers, and even if Mr. Mason didn’t have the web design job, they probably could support themselves just fine.

“Mind if we join you? I’m kinda hungry. And i’ve always got room for Nana Mason’s scones.” i had to ask. Jack was giving me her “gotta see this” look, so i figured we had better go with the two Grahams.

“Are you ever NOT hungry?” Caleb asked, “sure, let us go get our bikes. We’ll be right back.” He and Cassie headed back down their driveway to get their bikes.

“So, what is it with that family?” Jack asked, “the Grahams, I mean. They seem awful close for siblings.”

“Their parents are never around. Maybe once, twice a month they stop by and visit their kids. They gave Jason a credit card to an account with plenty of money on it, do taxes for the family, etc. They love their kids, but they travel a ton, don’t use vacation days except once or twice a month, and they trust Jason with taking care of the kids. So the Graham Group has grown really close. End of story.” i concluded.

“Yeah, and Mom and Dad seem more like Aunt and Uncle after five years of that. Cassie doesn’t remember it being any other way. And honestly, it’s better this way.” Caleb had come up behind me, helmet sideways on his curly blond hair, walking his bike. Cassie followed him, her own bike in tow and her kitty helmet on her cute blonde curls.

“C’mon, Grey Eyes, let’s head out.” Caleb called, mounting his bike. Grey Eyes was one of his nicknames for me, due to the fact that my eyes were as grey as ash. “I hope to get there before the crowd does.”

“What crowds?” i asked, “there are like thirty kids in the neighborhood, not including myself, Jack, and the Graham Group. Not a ton of people to be there right now.”

“Yeah, but Cassie may have told Rocco, who told the triplets, who started bugging Jason. Reid and Rita overheard, as did Sora and Ella. so the rest of the Graham Group is gonna be joining us soon enough. Let’s go before they do so we’re first in line.” he started biking off, and the rest of us followed him.

As we biked through the neighborhood, we saw more of the kids that dwelled within. I said ‘hello’ to Lucas Green, Delia Hecate, and Mary Rivo. I wondered how many kids Jack would get to know in the next two years. Several of the others were in the classes that i’d taken in previous years, and many had found me in the lunchroom on the first day of school in the past.

“Here we are,” Caleb said, snapping me out of my reverie, “Sparrow Lane, the dead end street leading to Mason’s. Let’s show the hill what’s what!” Sparrow lane was one of the streets that started at the top of a steep hill, winding a bit down to a large cul-de-sac. Racing down the hill was fun, although a bit less so since we had to cut speed quickly at the bottom. There was a road branching off of the cul-de-sac that led to the street that had mason’s on it, and then back to the main road of the neighborhood. We shot down the hill, laughing and calling out to each other. Then, when we reached the bottom, i found out why some kids weren’t allowed to bike down the hill. I hit the curb and went flying. My bike flipped upwards, and i let go as i was parallel to the ground, allowing myself to land on my back and my bike to continue into the sky, landing in a tree. As i landed, the breath was knocked out of me. I blacked out.

When i awoke, i found three concerned faces looking down at me. Caleb, Cassie, and Jack all looked concerned.

“How long was I out?” i asked. I noticed that my scratches were still bleeding, and the sun looked to be in about the same position, so it couldn’t have been that long.

“Less than a minute. You’re one lucky guy, Grey Eyes. There are people who woulda almost been killed from that crash. You just got the wind knocked out of you. A few scratches, some bruises.” Caleb chuckled. “Now i doubt Jack’s story about what happened to you two even less.”

“Told you. Just because you’ve seen him fight doesn’t mean you know how tough he is.” Jack informed him. She grinned down at me. But it was little Cassie that seemed the most concerned.

“Are you alright, ash? Those scratches look like they hurt. A lot. And so does your bike.” she pointed to where my bike lay on the ground, scratched up and missing its front tire. I looked up in the tree and saw that the tire was in the tree, hanging from a branch.

“The tire is an easy fix. And a few scratches never hurt anyone.” i said, already getting to my feet. I wasn’t even dizzy, nor was i seriously hurt. _If this were a movie,_ i thought _i would have some major plot armor._ I didn’t even have any broken bones. Moving towards the tree, i prepared to climb it. A few low branches, easily within reach. An easy climb, and getting the tire would be fairly easy as well. And so i began to climb, only to have my adopted sister grab my arm in order to keep me on the ground.

“Caleb can get it. We don’t know how bad you’re hurt. And, honestly, I’m worried about you.” she looked almost worried. Because of how well she knew me after three years, i was a little surprised. Climbing a tree like that was a simple thing for me. Always had been. “Please. Just rest for a bit. For me.” she was acting a little strange. Then it occurred to me.

“Hey. i know you don’t want to lose me, and i get that seeing me unconscious would make you worry. But I’m fine. It’s just a few scratches. Grass is forgiving, and i timed letting go so that i would land without my bike crushing me, so there’s nothing to worry about. I’m not going anywhere."

i gave her a grin, and turned around, taking a step towards the tree, only for the wheel of the bike that was in said tree to come down on my head, tire first. It bounced off of my head without any real problems, but i couldn’t help but joke. Collapsing comically, i had to land with my arm twisted under me, and gasp out “i won’t... make... it…” Jack rushed forward, but stopped when she saw Caleb biting his lip and Cassie smothering her giggles. I rolled onto my back, then sat up, laughing. Jack punched me.

“Not funny! Don’t joke like that right after a conversation like that!” she stopped to consider, then conceded “it was kinda funny, actually.”

“That, and it fell right into my lap.” i said, with a mock glare up at Caleb. He held up his hands defensively, almost losing his balance on the branch he sat on. “Sorry!” he said quickly.

I had to laugh. “Hey, no harm, no foul. The air pressure kept me from hitting the metal, and we got a good laugh out of it. Everyone’s all right, and that’s what counts.” i stood up and grabbed the wheel that lay beside me. Walking over to my bike, i easily fixed it and mounted up. “C’mon, let’s go.”

And so we got back on our bikes. I led the way off to the other street, the one we hadn’t come down. We biked down the street, and arrived at Mason’s. As i had told Caleb, there was no line.  We went in, and i saw Mr. Mason at the counter, typing on his computer. Around the room were several kids, including Jun Yeng, M.J. Hecate, and Nico Slate. As we moved to form the line, Caleb and I getting out our wallets, Yeng looked up at me and glared. His girlfriend, Ally Smith, put a steadying hand on his arm, and whispered something to him. His glare turned into a sneer.

Jun Yeng was the only kid in the whole neighborhood that I didn’t get along with. I didn’t know why. Part of it probably came from the fact that I had dated Ally before he had, and she had been focused on me for the first part of their relationship. It might have also had to do with the fact that his confident, powerful image had been shattered when I had challenged him to a fight. Part of it may have just been irrational. Either way, I wasn’t his favorite person.

“What’s up with him?” Jack whispered in my ear. She was looking at Yeng, and didn’t seem to like him. I guess someone hating on the kid who saved your life doesn’t make it so you want to be friends. “Why does he hate ya?”

“Honestly, no one’s sure,” Caleb replied. “Whenever anyone asks, Yeng just says ‘he’s done enough.’ Never says more than-” He was interrupted by yelling from the table occupied by the boy in question.

“You little snake!! What do you mean, you think he’s not bad at all?” Yeng had stood up straight, his chair clattering behind him. Ally flinched.

“I don’t know why you hate him! Nobody does,” she seemed afraid. Something began to stir in my mind. Why Ally had said that, why she seemed so afraid. Why she flinched.

“He’s done enough!” Yeng roared, raising his fist.

“That’s all you ever say!” Ally cried, cowering down in her chair. Then it struck me. Yeng had hit Ally. The way she sometimes had bruises on her face, her reactions to her boyfriend, all that made sense now. Anger roiling inside me, I strode over to Yeng and grabbed his wrist. When he turned to look at me, I punched him in the jaw. He stumbled away from me.

“See? This is what he does! What he’s always done!” Yeng thundered. He spat at me, then took up a fighting stance. By now the attention of the whole shack was on us. Yeng seemed to want to villainize me, but the fact that most of the others had seen his reaction to Ally’s comment, and by now had probably put two and two together, was working against him. Nico, though, moved to Yeng’s side, apparently seeing a one-sided fight about to start, and not knowing the cause. I’d known that Caleb had been standing by my side since Yeng had moved to take up the fight.

“What, he keeps you from abusing your girlfriends? Protects them from you? Helps you avoid prison?” M.J. piped up, moving to Ally’s side, making sure that she was emotionally okay. I gave Yeng my signature devil-may-care smile.

For years, I had been without fear. I wasn’t afraid of fire. I wasn’t afraid of blades. I wasn’t afraid of wild animals, or heights, or the supernatural. I wasn’t afraid to die. I certainly wasn’t afraid of Jun Yeng. And it showed. I beckoned him forward.

Nico, having heard M.J.’s challenge, was wavering, and I sent him a look that said ‘if you step out now, no one will blame you.’ He backed out.

Finding himself challenging two of the best fighters in the neighborhood without support, Yeng sprinted for the door, snarling “This isn’t over!”

“It never is.” I muttered, rolling my eyes. We had been fighting for ages now, and he always said that. I knew for a fact that Yeng watched too many movies. I glanced over at Jack, who seemed freaked out about the whole thing, even though the exchange had taken less than five minutes, and no blows had been exchanged. Well, except for my initial punch. I shot her a ‘you okay?’ look, and she nodded, so i went over to check on Ally. She looked up at me from her seat, and I smiled. “You okay?”

“Yes. Thanks for stepping in like that. There’s no way I’m gonna date him again. Thanks for the memories, jerk. Now I know what not to look for in a boyfriend. And what to look for.” She smiled up at me, and I knew that I had to put a stop to this before it got out of hand.

“If you’re trying to get me to date you, listen. Right now, I’m not in the market for a girlfriend. Before you ask, no, I’m not with anyone. I just need some time off from romance right now. If that changes, well, I’ll let you know. But I doubt it’ll change before winter.” I felt a little bad, but it was better to tell her gently now than harshly down the road. “Now, what do you want? My treat.”

In the end, I paid for snacks for Jack, Ally, Cassie, and Caleb as well as myself. As we enjoyed our ice cream, Nico walked up to our table, looking a bit embarrassed, and asked to talk to me. We walked outside, away from the others.

“Hey, bro. Before you say anything, just listen. I’m sorry for siding with Yeng back there. I don’t know why I did. I just saw an unmatched fight about to unfold, and most kids around here will fight for the victim. Come to think of it, you taught us that. Once I heard the situation, I felt like an idiot. Everyone probably hates me now for siding with him. I know I do.” He had started to ramble, and I spoke up.

“Hey, look. No one blames you, and certainly no one hates you. You were playing on your phone, and when you looked up, there was a confrontation. You did what you thought was right, and once you realized that you had misjudged the situation, you stepped down. There is no shame in that." As I finished my pep talk, Nico chuckled. I looked at him. “What?”

“Oh, nothing.” he said, still grinning. “Just that you didn’t bungle that one.”

I groaned. “Is that one of my defining features?” I complained, rolling my eyes.

“Yeah, but because turning around bad talks is one of your skills, not because of the messing up part.” Nico explained. “And thanks, by the way. You helped me get over my mistake.”

“Yeah, well,” I smiled. “That was kind of my goal. But what do you mean, I taught you guys to fight for the victim? The first time I stood up for Brooke, several of the kids from the neighborhood backed me up. Yourself included.”

Nico grinned, then informed me “It’s easier to stand up to someone if there’s already someone taking the lead. Now, if there’s nothing else you want to talk about, I kinda want to go enjoy my croissant.”

I laughed, and we headed back into Mason’s

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to clarify a few things: there are no plans right now for a Jack/Ash romance. some people i showed this to before i posted it on here asked about that. however, i have no idea where the story will go. it's one of those works that kinda writes itself. also, I am not ashton, and ash is not me. while parts of ash's physical appearance and personality traits reflect my own, the same is true for Jack, Caleb, and Ash's father. Cassie and Jason too, to an extent. any other questions, i will try to answer in future notes. one of the questions I got asked about Ash's school situation. he was in a public school in a different town, then switched to private school after sustaining significant physical, emotional, and mental injury, he was sent to private school, where he met Jack and a few others. after a few years, Ash moved to the house he currently inhabits, switching to the local public school, where he is now.


	3. The end of the Summer

As I stepped back into Mason’s, Jack called me over to the table that she, Caleb, Ally, and Cassie sat at. Nico excused himself and went back to the table he’d been sharing with M.J. As I walked to where Jack and Caleb were waving at me, I noticed several details about Mason’s. The Graham Group was in line, Jason talking to the younger kids, and the song “Little Talks” was playing on the radio that Mr. Mason always kept on a table in a corner of the room. When I passed his table, Jonathan Smith, Ally’s cousin, called to me. I turned to talk to him.

“Hey, man,” Jon started, gesturing for me to sit. “Thanks for stepping in for Ally back there. I wasn’t there to see it, but M.J. told me what happened. I owe you one, and so does Ally. she never stopped loving you, by the way. I think Yeng knew that,” he added as an afterthought. 

“So, the queen of hearts has lost her heart to the man with the shattered heart,” I quipped.

#author’s note: this phrase is an adaptation of a line from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days#

“Something like that, yeah,” Jon agreed. “Except Ally is considerably better at croquet.” we shared a laugh. As I got up to go to Jack and the others, Jon said one more thing.

“Ashton. Ally means a lot to me. Please, protect her. If anyone in this neighborhood can, I know it’s you.”  With that, Jonathan Smith went back to his ice cream.

As I walked away, questions bounced through my head. _First Caleb, then Jack, and now Ally. How many people am I going to have to look out for?_

At the table my posse had claimed, things were refreshingly normal. Jack and Ally were playing Bloody Knuckles, Caleb was balancing his ice cream sandwich on his nose, and Cassie was making a pyramid out of her popcorn. I chuckled, my musings forgotten, and sat down, calling out to everyone to look at me. Jack and Ally shook out their hands, Cassie sneezed, knocking over her pyramid, and Caleb lost his focus, ending up with ice cream in his eyes. They all looked at me.

“Now,” I  started, reaching for my water bottle, “I know that this is unorthodox, seems like something from a movie, and is probably inappropriate for our current circumstances, but I’d like to call a toast.” I raised my water bottle. “To friends, new, old, and somewhere in between!”

“To friends!” the others cheered. We raised our waters and drank. I laughed, and the others laughed with me. And for a little while, everything seemed better. And then “Happy” by Pharrell Williams started playing, and Ally wanted to dance. I had a few ideas on how we could arrange that. I went up to Mr. Mason and asked if he’d ever done anything with that dance floor mat he used to have. After I explained my idea, he smiled, and went to get what I’d asked for. I went around, recruiting a few people to move tables out from the center of the room, and a few of us went to get the dance floor mat from Mr. Mason’s cart. Once everything was set up, I went over and let Mr. Mason know. He plugged in the stereo system he’d gotten, and announced “Time for a dance party!” As the others danced, I excused myself and Jack to head home. School was coming up in a few weeks, and Jack was tired from the move. Caleb ran out after us as Jack and I mounted our bikes. To be honest, I think he had a thing for Jack. It would certainly match Caleb’s personality.

“Hey, if you’re willing to wait a few minutes, the rest of the Graham Group is on their way out. Cassie wants to introduce Jack to Ella, Sora and Rita. I get the feeling that Sora especially could use the friendship. You and Ally are her only friends, and she’s kinda lonely.”

“Well, it takes just one day, 86,400 seconds, to turn things around. And I agree that Jack would be a good friend for Sora. and there’s something that I need to talk to Jason about. Speak of the devil, there they are!” I said as the Graham Group all walked out of Mason’s, the triplets chasing each other around, Reid and Rita trying to get Ella down from a tree she had climbed, Sora telling Rocco a joke, and tiny Cassie on Jason’s huge shoulders, the six-foot-six leader of the Group laughing along with his little sister. Rocco’s eyes landed on me, and he turned to Sora.

“Hey, Sis, look! It’s your boyfriend!” Rocco teased, making Sora blush. “He is _not_ my boyfriend! Stop saying that!” a now beet-red Sora shoved her younger brother. Rocco only laughed.

“Sure, not officially, but everyone knows how bad you’re crushing on him!” Joel called from where Josh was chasing her.

“Is it really that obvious?” Sora asked, her blush deepening. I just chuckled, and walked over.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed about. After all, the heart wants what the heart wants, does it not?” I asked her, and patted her shoulder. “That’s why I never called you out on it.”

“You knew?” she asked, looking at me.

“Yeah, you aren’t exactly subtle, blushing whenever we work together, yet working with me fairly often. But anyway, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

Sora was about nine months younger than Caleb, who had been born a month before the grade cut-off day, so instead of being a Senior, he was going to be a Junior in school. Therefore, Sora and Caleb were in the same grade, and many of the same classes, and I shared several classes with them.

Introducing Sora to Jack felt strange. Shy, quiet Sora Graham contrasted sharply with Jack Elton’s jovial, boisterous, tomboyish nature. The shy blonde shook hands with the boisterous brunette, and Caleb visibly relaxed. Jason called out to us from over by the bikes.

“Hey, let’s get going. It’s late, and I’d like to get Cassie back home in time for bed. And while Sora could use the friendship, I get the feeling that Jack could use some sleep.”

“Yeah,” Jack yawned. “Let’s get going.”

We mounted bikes and started riding, heading to the Grahams’ house, where we said our goodbyes. As Jack and I biked away, we could hear the Group getting ready for bed.

“Nice kids.” Jack broke the silence. “I like Cassie and Sora, and Caleb seems like a good friend.”

“He is. All of them are good friends. I’m glad you met Sora. She needs friends, and she seemed like the kind of person that you’d get along with. Looks like my hunch was right.”

As we got to the house, Jack asked about dinner. In all the excitement, I’d completely forgotten! I was tired of pizza, and Jack didn’t want to eat out, so I talked Dad into ordering Chinese takeout. After dinner, we went through the luggage that Jack had brought, unpacking the things she needed for the coming weeks: toothbrush, a few sets of clothes, the usual. We set her up in one of the guest rooms, and she started moving her clothes into the dresser. Once everything was said and done, I left Jack arranging the pictures of her family that she’d liberated from her old house and went to my own room, where I pulled one of my old magazines off the bookshelf and flopped down on my bed, looking through it. As I was re-reading one of my favorite articles, I heard a knock on my door. “Come in!’

Jack stood in the doorway, holding the picture of her family to her chest. She looked both nervous and upset. When I saw her, I set down my mag, sat up, and turned to her. I patted the bed, and she came over to sit down.

“Hey, sis. You look upset. Is something wrong?” I asked, looking her in the eye.

“The thing is, being here, not living with a foster family, making friends again, all this” she gestured around her vaguely, and I nodded, understanding, “it feels like, in joining your family, I’m betraying my own.”

“Hey, Jack, look. Would your father want you to spend the rest of your life mourning him? Would Alex or John want you to behave like a hermit until the end of time? You need to rejoin the world at some point, it's better that you do it while there are people around to help you if you stumble. Sora is nice, she’ll make a good friend, and you both need the support that a friend brings. No one in your family would blame you for moving on. As long as you don’t forget them, and what they’d want, you will never betray them. That said, if you feel like you need to, it’s good to cry, to remember them. Just don’t let the grief consume you.” I rubbed her back, and she looked up at me.

“Is this the part where you burst into song, like some cheesy movie?” she asked, smiling now through her tears. Good. A smile is always good.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Nah. I’ll leave that to the Trolls.” She laughed and stood, exiting my room. As she left, she turned back towards me. “And Ash?”  
“Yeah?”

“Thanks.” She grinned, and headed for her room. I flopped down on my bed, and started flipping through my mag again, then turned out the lights and went to sleep.

The next few weeks were a blur, helping Jack unpack, working as a cashier at McDonald's (hey, I gotta get pocket money somewhere) and going to the park with the Graham Group and my adopted sister. One day, while at the park, Cassie suggested that we take Jack to the beach. I had saved up enough money from my day job to pay the entrance fee for all of us, the younger kids loved the idea, and Jason suggested that we do it for a last hurrah for summer. Reid suggested we put it to a vote, and we all said yes. It was unanimous. We were going to the beach on August 23rd, two days before school started.

That night, Jack came by my room again. This time, though, she seemed a lot more cheerful, and she was holding the family cat, a rather large tabby tom named Dookie, who had instantly taken to her. I invited her in, partly so we could talk, partly so I could join in the petting of Dookie. As we sat, I asked her the cause of her visit this time.

“Just saying ‘hi’. You got any good books I could borrow?” she asked, glancing at my overladen bookshelf.

“Sure. Here, I’ve got Amulet here if you want it. It’s a graphic novel, but it’s good.” I handed her the book, then said, “so, I noticed that you’re getting along well with the Graham Group.”

Jack smiled, and replied “yeah. They’re really something. Sora and Caleb especially. I should go finish getting ready for bed.” she left, flipping through the book, and I went back to my mag. Dookie left by himself.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow. looking back at all I've written in this story, in between dealing with family and my internship, I can't believe how well things are going. Ash and Jack are really developing as characters already, and the neighborhood is taking shape. it's amazing. as always, you can comment with any critique, or email me at cranewave41@gmail.com.


	4. The Dream

That night, I dreamed. That wasn’t unusual, I dreamt fairly often. What was unusual was the dream itself. Normally my dreams take me through the branches of Yggdrasil, or through the Misty Mountains, or to my grandparents’ farm in missouri (those dreams usually involved copious amounts of chili. Don’t judge. My grandmother makes excellent chili.) tonight though, I found myself on a dark city street, lit by old neon signs. Here and there, giant screens were attached to the sides of the building, some cracked and all grimy and dark. I stood with my back to a brick wall, looking down the long alleyway. Next to me, a neon sign read “bridal boutique” over a dark and boarded up store, the window display still in place. The dresses looked like they would have been beautiful, white with feathered hems, the bridal trains gauzy and beautiful. Now, though, they were dirt-smeared and grimy, what used to be the pure white of a bride on her wedding day now faded to the dirty grey-white of soot. The feathers were disheveled, many around the mannequins they used to be on, leaving behind slightly less dirty places where they used to be. The veils torn and soiled, ratty and ragged. The glass of the storefront cracked. I heard the sound of a few chords played on a guitar, and turned from studying the boarded-up boutique to see two caucasian boys sitting in an empty lot nearby, one on the hood of a decrepit pickup truck, guitar in hand, playing Green Day’s song “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.” He was wearing a flannel buttondown shirt like a hoodie, loose jeans, sneakers, and, characteristically, a Green Day: American Idiot t-shirt. His hair, somewhere between red and brown and blond, hung down to his shoulders, obscuring his downturned face. The other boy, like his companion, wore a Green Day: American Idiot t-shirt, and, also like the other boy, was looking down, but similarities ended there. While the first boy wore flannel, the second wore a LS3 sweatshirt over his t-shirt, black jeans, and hiking boots. His hair was a dirty blond, and he wore glasses. He sat on a broken wall, looking down at the project in his lap. For some reason, I couldn’t focus on his face, despite it not being obscured. His project seemed to consist of wires being twisted into a sculpture. As I walked closer, the boy with the sculpture looked up, and I paused. His facial features were close enough to mine that it looked like he’d been based off of me, or maybe the other way around, yet still unique enough that it was clear that he was a separate entity. His eyes were a grey-blue that, when partnered with the moonlight and the grey rims of his glasses, looked almost like liquid silver. His dirty blond hair came down almost to his eyebrows, and his slight grin hinted at a habit of practical jokes and scams. When I asked him his name, his expression changed to the same sardonic smile that often greeted me when I was confronted by a mirror, only with less humor. “My name’s Sam, and the guy with the guitar is Colby. Whether that information will help you or not, that depends on how you look at it.”

His eyes were unnerving, looking solid silver in the moonlight, no whites, no pupils, just the quicksilver and gunmetal grey of a sword in starlight. So instead, I looked down at his wires, now forming the head, arms, and upper torso of Sora, an anguished expression on her face, a ripped and battered tie in her hand, on the ring finger of her other hand, two rings: one for engagement and one for marriage. From the looks of things, she was still in her wedding dress. It was eerily lifelike, and had the slight features that told me it was unmistakably Sora: the slight oddity in the eye shape, the small mole on her chin that no one not looking for it would notice. But at the same time, it wasn’t exactly her. She looked subtly different, but I couldn’t tell how. Then, it came to me: she looked older, at least nineteen. And somehow, I knew that she was looking at Jun Yeng. With terror in her eyes. On her wedding day. I looked up at Sam. That same sardonic smile met me. The boy simply nodded, and I knew that my assessment was correct.

“Hey. Stop scaring the visitor.”

The voice of the other boy (Colby, my mind, still stunned from what I’d seen, managed to register) cut through my surprise and fear. His electric blue eyes meeting his companion’s grey ones, he seemed to send the message ‘cut it out.’ Sam simply shrugged, still smiling, and went back to his unnerving statue. Grateful for the interruption, I looked the boy on the beaten pickup. He looked back. Despite keeping Sam from freaking me out too much, his demeanor didn’t look any more friendly or open than that of his companion. He was still playing “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” and his gaze, while less unnerving than Sam’s, was no warmer. He spoke again.

“The day that that happens is still years in the future, if it happens at all. Many months and many adventures lie behind Sora Graham if she meets that fate, and she will have cheated Death. There are other things you must worry about, nearer in the future.” Behind Sam and Colby, the huge screen that had been dark, like all the others in the alleyway, flickered to life. On it, I beheld my death. I was lying in the field of the school, a pool of blood spreading around me, Ali standing over me. As I watched, Ali cried out and collapsed, frantically checking my pulse, my breathing. Before I could tell whether the Ashton Fariah on the screen was alive, the scene started over, Ali collapsing on me again, checking my pulse. The scene kept repeating, as I turned away from the lot, and kept trudging down the street. As I walked away, I tossed over my shoulder: “so what if I die? Everyone dies, eventually. The only thing left now is to live life ‘til I’m dead.” I thought I heard Sam say behind me “this one’s a fighter.” I smiled.

I noticed more detail around me. To my left, across from the empty lot, there was what looked like a car dealership, boarded up and closed. Next to it was a parking lot, filled with the latest models of cars, as well as custom-made vehicles and classics that any man would love to own: Ferraris, Lamborghinis, customs with spoilers that had to be illegal, but looked really cool, you name it. But all the cars looked old, like they had been left out there for years. Paint jobs were faded, scratches marred the finishes, hubcaps were missing, and windshields were cracked. Even the models that had come out that year, Fords and Chevys, were battered and looked decades old. Next to the dealership was a closed-up apartment building, graffiti marring its base. Just across the street was an electronics shop. It was there that I found the next boy.

He had blond hair, stern features, and green eyes. He was intent on his laptop, typing in what appeared to be the calculations for a spaceship. When I approached, he looked up, said “hey,” and just went back to his computer. I looked at him, then reached out and slammed his computer closed. I glared into his eyes, and he glared back. “Dude! Wtf?” he complained, seemingly all posturing.

“Look. I get the feeling that you’re here to show me something. That’s what everyone else in this dream seems to want. So, let’s start easy. What’s your name?” he cringed, but looked me in the eye. “Garett. My name is Garett. And I do have something to show you.” he opened his computer. On it was a video of Caleb. As I watched, he squared off with an opponent behind the camera, seemingly the cameraman. He threw a punch, and a wrist came up to block it. Again, Caleb punched, and again, his opponent blocked. Caleb kept at it, lashing out with punches, kicks, chops, and jabs, but every blow was blocked. As the fight progressed, I recognised the style.

It was Jun Yeng’s style. But Yeng had never been good enough to stand up to Caleb, let alone hold him off this effectively. Garrett looked at me, then back at the screen. Since I had last looked, Caleb had acquired a split lip. He bobbed and wove, still seeming to be too enraged to go on the defensive. As I watched, the cameraman went on the offensive. All I could see was the projected blows, the punches and kicks, Caleb still adamantly on the offensive. A blow to the face, one to the chest, a kick to the knee. Caleb slowed his attacks, but still refused to defend. As I watched, he soundlessly screamed ‘what did you do! What did you do to him! Ali, Jack, Sora, they all needed him! Good luck escaping me, bastard!’ With the same chilling certainty I had had with the sculpture of Sora, I knew that Caleb was referring to the scene that had taken place on the big screen back by Sam and Colby. He was torn apart by my death, threatening to kill Yeng to get revenge. As I watched, Caleb took a kick to the temple and went down, unconscious. Garrett looked back up at me.

“Your death will tear your friends and families apart, Caleb and Jack the most. Caleb will get himself killed by the young man that killed you, and the perpetrator will suffer a lifetime in jail. Unless you move to the left when the shot is fired, your world will come crashing down as you collapse, mortally wounded even as you are. If you survive, all will be well, Caleb will not go into a self-destructive rage, and all of you will live to have other adventures. But be warned, if you do survive, there will be more pain.” Behind him, the screen that had lain dormant above us flickered to life, showing a picture of my face. As I watched, a hand entered the picture holding a knife, and slashed across my cheek. The Ashton on the screen gasped as the blood from his wound spilled down his face. I knew in an instant that the wound would scar.

I smirked at Garrett, and glanced up at the screen again, just in time to see the knife pass across my face again. “So you’re telling me that either I die and my friends and family fall apart without me, or I suffer along with them. I’ll do anything to protect those I love, friends and family alike. So give me scars. Give me pain. I’ve only got the world to gain.” I turned and walked away, an image of me being injured repeatedly playing on the screen behind me. As I walked, I thought I heard Garrett’s speakers playing Boulevard of Broken Dreams.

I saw a library closed, its windows boarded up and its stylized architecture chipped and cracked. The stone statues looking a lot like the ones in front of the Boston Public Library, aged about a hundred more years. Ripped and tattered books lay on the steps, some of them textbooks, some of them novels, some of them children’s picture books. Across from that, there was a veterinary hospital, also looking closed and dead. Like the empty lot and the electronics shop, the veterinary hospital had people in front of it. There were three of them, if you count the dog: a boy with a shock of brilliant orange hair, a black hoodie, jeans, sneakers, and, you guessed it, a Green Day: American Idiot t-shirt; a brunette, curly haired girl dressed the same way as her companion, minus the hoodie; and a black labrador, being pet by both the brunette and the redhead. Like the others, I couldn’t see the boy’s or girl’s faces while they looked down. The dog looked right at me, and I could tell that she was more intelligent than the average labrador. Like the others, the two people looked up as I walked towards them, and I discovered that the redhead had eyes to match those of the guitarist, Colby, while the brunette had brown eyes.

The dog spoke first, letting out a bark that startled me. Smiling at my reaction, the redhead gestured me forward.

“Don’t be too afraid, that’s just Skuggi’s way of saying ‘hello.’ I’m Owen, by the way, and this” he gestured to the girl “is Roxanne. I imagine you know why we’re here.” strangely enough, next to Owen was a radio playing the same song that had been prevalent throughout the entire dream: Boulevard of Broken Dreams.

Roxanne gestured me forward, inviting me closer. “Come on over, pet Skuggi. She doesn’t bite.” Roxanne hugged the lab around the neck. I squatted down and started to pet the dog’s head. As I did, Owen stroked Skuggi’s fur from tail to head, and from the disturbed fur, a picture formed. It was me, Jack in my arms. She looked like she’d been crying. I could almost hear her say ‘I missed ya, Ashton.’ I thought of how sad she’d be if I actually died. I was practically the only family she had left. As I watched, though, my image seemed to disintegrate, scattering like dust in the wind. Jack looked around frantically, then collapsed, sobbing uncontrollably. Having figured out how these things worked, I glanced up at Roxanne and Owen for explanation. It was Roxanne who supplied it.

“If you die, Jacqueline Elton will become increasingly unstable, hallucinations of you coming home dominating her waking life. Every time she ‘sees’ you enter the room, though, she will subsequently ‘see’ you crumble to dust, each time driving her further into despair. She will literally go insane.”

Behind the three, the giant screen flickered to life. I was braced for something painful, but that did nothing to prepare me for what I saw. I had prepped for physical pain being displayed along with emotional, but what I saw was heartbreaking. On the screen, Jack was lying in her bed, quietly crying. As I watched, the door of her room opened, and ‘I’ walked in. instantly, Jack flew at me, arms positioned to engulf me in a hug. As soon as she touched ‘me’, however, ‘I’ turned into a flurry of ashes, retaining the shape of Ashton Fariah for a split second, then Jack went barreling through the dust and cinders. She collapsed, sobbing, and the scene repeated.

As I turned to walk away, I threw over my shoulder “Don’t worry. It won’t get to that. I’m not afraid to die, but I’m not going anywhere soon. Such a shame, though, the ones who died without a name.” as if what I had seen didn’t trouble me in the least. I wished I was half as good at acting in real life as I was in that dream. If only. Once again, as I was walking away, I heard the radio playing Boulevard of Broken Dreams.

A ways down the alleyway, I encountered the next pair, two boys again. The first was tall, with dark hair and eyes, and a computer on his lap. Like everyone else in the dream, he wore a Boulevard of Broken Dreams t-shirt and jeans. The other boy wore the same attire, with the addition of a black hoodie. His hair was brown-blond, and his eyes were blue. Both boys’ eyes seemed to be glued to the screen of the computer in the first boy’s lap, so neither noticed me until I cleared my throat. Even then, they seemed more focused on the movie of two WWII tanks blowing each other to bits on the screen than my glare.

“Alright, let’s get this over with. What are your names?” I asked, already thinking _oh great, another garrett, in duplicate, no less._

“I’m Craig,” the second boy spoke, then gestured to his friend and said “and this is Alex.”

“The amazing!” Alex piped up.

I was very unamazed. Alex ‘the amazing’ was cheering on a tank on the screen of his computer and calling out advice to it. The tank was clearly losing. “No, no, go to your left!” the tank went right. “Your other left!” the tank had one of the mini-mg’s on it’s chassis blown off. “You idiot!”

“What’s your name?” Craig asked. I blinked, confused. Everyone else in this dream had seemed to know my name already. That said, these two were so wrapped up in their movie that they could have missed a teacher yelling at them in the middle of science class. Probably had. It was easy to imagine how they missed the memo. “Uh, Ashton. Call me Ash.” Craig nodded, then went back to watching the movie.

“Hey. look, like everyone else in this depressing dream, I think that you have something to tell me.” I said after reaching out and pausing the movie, mid-explosion. The two seemed to appreciate the timing.

“Oh yeah! That’s what we were forgetting!” Craig exclaimed. “At least, I know I forgot. Did you forget, Alex? Or did you just want to watch Tank World XVI: the Explosioneer?”

“Uh, yeah, I forgot. Let’s go with that. And hey, wasn’t Andrew supposed to be here with us?” Alex looked around, seemingly realizing for the first time that their messenger group was missing a member-likely the one who was responsible for telling me why they were there- and not really seeming to care. Once again, Alex ‘the Amazing’ failed to amaze me. I rolled my eyes.

“So. any advice? Any warnings about what’s going to happen to Jack or Caleb or Sora or Dookie if I die?” I asked, already fed up with the two.

“When you die, Dookie is going to become Jack’s only family other than your father. Dookie’s gonna get fat.” Alex explained offhand. I resisted the urge to yell ‘brilliant, Holmes.’ Dookie was already about 25 pounds, very heavy for a cat. “As for advice, let’s have Bonzi Buddy read it!” to my horror, the giant screen across the street flickered to life, and an image of a purple monkey-bear-chihuahua thing standing on a Google Doc appeared. I turned back to Alex and Craig, glaring. “Don’t you dare!” The  giant monkey-thing started to read.

What Bonzi Buddy read is unrepeatable. I can honestly say that I wanted to go into the computer and pummel that thing. If this weren’t a dream, I would’ve run away, gotten a huge rock, found the speakers, and bludgeoned them to pieces. But, since it was a dream, I was forced to stand there, listen to the whole thing, and decidedly NOT break anything to reduce the torture. When the stupid purple chihuahua-gorilla thing was done, I grabbed Alex’s computer and threw it through the screen. This being a dream, the computer just bounced off the screen and landed in Alex’s lap, completely unharmed. I swore a blue streak. I was too disgruntled to even come up with a smart-aleck parting comment. The best I could do: “Delete that monkey!” As I walked away, I heard Alex’s computer playing the movie once more. I had never been more glad to leave a pair of people behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started writing this after I started writing Beach Day, so I had to post both in order to re-order them. sorry. this chapter was started when I was listening to the song _Boulevard of Broken Dreams_ , so that began as a base theme in the dream. in case you didn't know, _American Idiot_ is the album on which the song has been published. the characters in this dream are made solely for this dream, and will not appear again in this story, although Ash may think about the dream.


	5. Beach Day

The morning of August 23rd, I was awakened by a bundle of energy blasting my door off its hinges, shocking me awake, and searing my eyes right out of my head, all the while howling like a hurricane. Then, after I was seriously dead, the bundle of energy reanimated me and dragged me to breakfast. Once enough of my brain was awake to process that, no, I wasn’t a zombie, the world was not in fact made of searing light, and the hurricane sound was… well, let’s say that Jack was excited, which made sense, as over the past two weeks she had struck up a friendship with Sora, and the two were becoming close. Jack managed to engage me in conversation, sort of. It went something like this:

Jack: “Ash, come on, let’s go! Today’s gonna be fun!”

Me: “Mmnmh.”

Jack: “Wake up, Ash!” she punched me.

Me: “ungh. Why are you waking me up so early?” I blinked the sleep out of my eyes, reaching for the cereal cabinet. While Jack scolded me for forgetting the beach day today, I poured myself a bowl of cereal and started to eat, mentally calculating my escape route in case this got violent. _Okay, down the hall, quick right, up the stairs, into my room. Easy peasy._ Yeah, right. If this got ugly, I was in no condition to defend myself, let alone get to my room in time to lock it. I was better off trying to freeze Hell.  By that time, Jack had finished scolding me and was trying to drag me towards the stairs in order to get ready. I stayed in my chair and kept eating my cereal, but it wasn’t easy. That girl was strong.

“Seriously, sister, chill. It’s not like we don’t have a while until we need to be at the Grahams’ house. We’re not gonna miss anything. And if I don’t have breakfast, then I’ll be cranky and no fun for the rest of the day.” I got her to let go of me until the end of my bowl of cereal, but as soon as I got up to put the bowl in the sink, I was hauled down the hall towards the stairs, Jack eagerly dragging me along. When we got to my room, she shoved me in, with orders to change into my bathing suit and the comment “If you’re not back out in ten minutes, I’m coming in!” On that scary note, she turned and went to get ready herself. After we were both ready (fortunately without anyone barging into anyone else’s rooms), I was awake enough to begin to get together a beach bag while Jack gathered snacks. Wallet, check. Goggles, check. Hey, I like bodysurfing. What did I say about judging? Beach towels, check. Beach blanket, check. Various shovels and buckets, check. Radio, check. Sunscreen, double check. I had lots of experience with sunburns, especially after I broke my arm five years ago. I’d been in a cast for six months, my right arm not getting any sun, and then, the day it was taken off, my father decided to take me to the beach. Seems like a good idea, right? Bring him to go swimming the first day he can in half a year. In reality, though, my arm looked like a lobster, post boiling. Had we used sunscreen? Yes. Had we re-applied it every 90 minutes? You betcha. Did it do a thing? Nope. My bedsheets felt like sandpaper for a month, and I hadn’t even spent that much time in the water. After an experience like that, I wasn’t about to go without. 

As Jack walked over, wearing her swim trunks and swim shirt (she would never wear a bikini, she swore to me often) and holding a cooler with the snacks in it, I wrote a quick note to my father-  _ Going out, Dad. With the Graham Group. Love you. _ Seeing as Dad wouldn’t be up until at least 2 that afternoon, it was all I could do to let him know. With the preparations completed, we started towards the door, then the Graham’s house. We met the siblings in their driveway, Reid in the driver’s seat, Cassie and Ella smiling and waving to us. Josh, Joey and Joel were, as always, chasing each other around, while Rita and Sora folded a beach blanket between them and Caleb, Jason, and Rocco toted coolers, boogie boards, and beach chairs and toys to the repurposed, repurchased, and repainted short school bus that Caleb and Reid had modified to make the Graham Group family car. Caleb had taken out the back few rows of seats, added seat belts, and repainted the thing. Meanwhile, Reid had updated the controls, removed the school bus signs, and had made the door that led to the passenger area much safer and openable by the passengers. They had also replaced the engine with that of a semi, and made a compartment for luggage and extra items. Each person had a seat, and the seats had been customized for their occupants: Rita’s seat had a makeup station, mirror, and hairbrush; Caleb’s had a video game shelf and a Nintendo 3DS charging station; Sora’s had a bookshelf and a reading light; Jason had a table and seats for Ella and Cassie on either side of his; Ella’s and Cassie’s seats had crayons and stacks of paper, books and pencils; the triplets had a table and magnetic board games; Rocco had a tiny tv and a remote. There were a few seats for guests, and Caleb, Rita, Rocco, and Sora had extra room in their seats, and extra seat belts. It was quite the family car, and with Reid at the wheel, we were set to have quite the fun time. Caleb had also installed a mini fridge and a basket, making it even better. Jack and I threw our stuff in the back with the numerous beach items of a twelve-person family, then moved up and got into the bus proper. Once everyone had gotten into their seats, Reid started the engine, and we were off. 

I found out on the drive that one of the best upgrades Caleb and Reid had made to Jenny (the bus. For those of you who don’t know, a man always names his first vehicle. It’s a guy thing) was the suspension. Due to the school budget, school buses have almost no suspension. Jenny, on the other hand, had the suspension of a luxury car. As we travelled the highway, Reid proved adept at steering us away from traffic, speed traps, and anyone who would object to having a repainted bus on the interstate, not an adult in sight. Despite his skill, we were still pulled over twice, but each time, once Reid and Jason explained the reason for such a big vehicle, and a driver’s license was shown, the cop let us go with no problems. Despite the easy drive, the memory of my dream troubled me. While Caleb played Fire Emblem, and Sora and Jack talked, I sat alone in an unoccupied seat, thinking. I’d had nightmares before, terrifying dreams that showed me the only fear for myself I’d known since my mother died, and I had dealt with them. The ghosts and wraiths of my imagination were old friends of mine, and I had accepted them long ago. This was different, in more ways than one. For one thing, the people in my dream had seemed to be more than just faces that would shift and change, they had seemed to have substance. Also, the dream had left a lingering sense of unease and foreboding. I had no idea why. Then it occurred to me: I  _ remembered _ the dream. I was thinking about the specifics, not the general idea. When a person dreams, or at least when I dream, I remember only vague impressions, yet this remained crisp and clear in my mind. And having Bonzi Buddy read the final message couldn’t possibly have helped offset my sense of foreboding. The only thing that could help reassure me was that it looked like springtime when I was shot, but that could easily just be symbolism, but then again- okay, enough. I am going to put you back in your box now, imagination. I do not currently like you. 

Before long, we saw a sign for a rest stop, and I learned one of the many problems with a family of twelve: when travelling, needs for stopping at this place or that abound, most of them involving a bathroom. Our bus pulled into the rest stop, and the pushing for the door began. The triplets were the first out, having left their monopoly game underfoot and tripped Caleb and Rocco, effectively blocking the path for everyone else. They were, surprise surprise, thus the first ones to encounter the police officer. Because three cops pulling over our “mystery bus” in a day wasn’t enough, now we had to deal with one in a parking lot. Fortunately, like the others, this guy seemed understanding, and after I offered to buy him some donuts and a cup of coffee, he agreed to give us a note that would let us get out of encounters as long as we weren’t speeding or doing anything illegal. The only catch was that I owed this guy a donut. 

After the purchase of the donut, a breakfast burrito, five bags of chips, a roll of lifesavers, and three apples, we were on our way again. This time, instead of sitting by myself and thinking myself in circles, I sat with Caleb, who booted up the second DS in his little booth, and we played video games for a while. Once he had gotten tired at losing Smash Bros Brawl, I asked him a question. 

“Hey, Caleb, do you ever have dreams that leave you with a specific feeling?” I turned to him, but before he had time to answer, Reid called “how about som music?” and turned on the radio, playing DJ Got Us Falling In Love. So there we were, cruising down the Interstate, Usher blaring and a surfboard in the back, and me with an unanswered question. Josh got up and started dancing in the aisle until Joey and Joel pulled him back into his seat. By the time that was done, we were off the Interstate and on back roads on our way to the beach. Rocco had opened his window and was waving like a celebrity, Ella had a picture she wanted to show me that she had passed up past Rita and Sora, and someone had landed a tomato on the ceiling. Or maybe the tomato had been there this entire time and I just hadn’t noticed it. Either way, I didn’t have a chance to drag an answer out of Caleb. Before long, we reached the beach, and it was time for me to pay our way in. I payed the parking fee and the fee for 14 people, consisting of 13 kids and an adult (the guy looked at me like I was crazy, and the fact that I was leaning over Reid in the front seat of a repurposed school bus that read “Graham Group” along the side probably didn’t help) but he just said “have a nice day, enjoy the beach.” and we were through. We found parking with surprising ease, and unloaded. One benefit of having twelve people in your family: there’s a lot of people to carry stuff. On the other hand, there’s a lot of stuff to carry. We toted blankets, umbrella, radio, beach toys, beach chairs, towels, boogie boards, and coolers across the boardwalk along the dunes, and set up on one of the best spots on that beach: a section with a little hollow in the side of a rock face that helped block out the sun, but wasn’t really a cave. Another half hour to get everything set up, and the younger kids were off to play. I remembered this place, and the private property on the other side of the rock face, and looked hopefully for one Candy Evans, a girl I had met the last time I had been here. She wasn’t in sight, and I doubted she’d be down on a day like today, but hey, a guy can dream.

Camdy’s real name was Candace Evans. She lived on beachside property, and loved to swim. We had met at the beginning of the summer, and really hit it off. She had promised to look for me on the beach, and we had exchanged phone numbers. That’s right! I had her phone number in my phone! I rummaged through my bag, came up with the sought-after item, and texted Candy  _ @ d beach. D alcove.  _ A few seconds later, I got a text  _ be right there. _ I ran down to the water and started to swim out, hoping to wave her over and drag her into bodysurfing again. I had a new trick I wanted to pull on her. I saw Candy run down from her house and waved to her. She waved back, and waded out to meet me, wearing a bikini as she had every time I’d seen her. As she put it, “that’s how I want you to remember me.” I had no objections. Who would, other than a parent? 

As she approached me, I faded back towards the public beach, and she followed me. As we reached the place where the waves broke, I pretended to lose my footing, and went down. I bodysurfed underwater, sticking my hand up to mark for Candy where I was. She launched herself forward, swimming hard and bodysurfing towards me, as she usually did. Now for the trick. I tucked in and dug my hands and feet into the sand, making it so she was sent right over my head, but I underestimated the power of the ocean and just sent myself into a series of somersaults. There’s one practical joke down the drain, and I had salt water in my nose, but the look on Candy’s face when I surfaced was worth it. I doubled over laughing, then a wave broke right behind me, taking me under again. I came up still laughing. Candy punched me. We started wading back, and I introduced Candy to Jack. 

The two said hi, and seemed to get along. Caleb walked up, bent down, picked up a bag of chips, munched a few of the chips, and suggested we go bodysurfing, all without noticing Candy. She giggled a bit, and joined Jack and I as we charged down after Caleb. The three of us charged into the water after him, and met Sora, who was swimming away from Joey as Josh and Joel laughed and called out. Seeing us, Sora swam over and said hi, while Joey swam after his triplets. Sora and I talked, then Sora asked about Candy, then Sora and Candy talked, then everyone was caught up. Caleb, being Caleb, chose that moment to notice Candy’s existence by bodysurfing straight into her stomach, sending both of them tumbling towards shore. He popped up grinning, a clump of seaweed forming an afro on his head.

“Woohoo! That’s fun. Who did I hit?” he seemed confused to see Jack, Sora and I still upright, and yet having clearly hit someone. His confusion ended when Candy yelled “Me, Idiot!” in his ear. Caleb turned around, right into the haymaker she threw, and went down again. Undaunted, he bounced right back up and introduced himself. After introductions and bruisings were complete, the five of us were on the same page. Well, four of us were. Caleb still looked more focused on bodysurfing than the pretty girl in front of him- a first, for him, as he was usually lovestruck at first sight. I was amazed by that, but I would soon learn that it was a day for the amazing. Caleb charged back into the surf, dragging Jack along behind him. Sora went splashing off after her friend and brother, and Candy followed her. I laughed, then followed them. If ever I think life is boring, I thought, I just need to spend time with Caleb, Sora, and Jack. Candy too, if she were to live in my neighborhood. 

I was shaken out of my thoughts in time to avoid getting bowled over by Caleb, riding another wave. I reached out and pushed him under. He came up laughing, and tripped me, sending me under right in time to avoid the wave that hit him full in the face. When I came back up, he was coughing and sputtering, a smile still on his face. A cry of “look out” from behind me was the only warning for Jack bowling me over in the same manner Caleb almost had, taking me under again. While I was under, Sora went right over my head, and took out Caleb. Candy joined us soon after, exhibiting enough control to knock both me and Caleb over. We went charging back into the waves, and bodysurfed and went kamikaze on each other until I called a break for lunch. Jack got in the last hit, knocking Candy right into Caleb and practically forcing me to make a lovebirds joke. We waded in to shore, and found the rest of the Graham Group assembling. Candy heard her mother calling to her to come in to finish packing, and walked back to her place with a promise to see me again today. I wasn’t so sure, but was okay with my last image of her being her walking away from me in her light blue bikini, waving over her shoulder, blond hair wild and wet, a smile on her face. Smiles are always good. If only I’d known the bombshell she’d drop on me later that day. 

Jason and Reid were discussing what to do for lunch, and the younger ones were still running around and enjoying themselves. Rocco had made a sand castle, and the triplets were playing Frisbee. Rita was looking at the shells that Ella and Cassie had brought her. 

“Hey, if you need someone to pay for lunch, I have the money.” I piped up, walking up to the group. Caleb ran to intercept the frisbee, and Jack and Sora were ushered to the shells area by Cassie. 

“Nah, we got the card,” Reid answered me, and grinned. “Save your money.” 

I smiled back. “All right. What say we head to the main building and get some lunch there? They got hot dogs!” That earned a few smiles, and Jason called out to the others that we were going to get lunch. The whole Group started to troop over, except for Rita, who decided to stay and watch the cooler and such, but asked for a salad. We headed up to the snack shack and ordered lunch. I’m not gonna bother with all the details, but it was as it usually is with the Graham Group. Long and numerous. Then the whole thing was over, and we were on our way back to the blanket. Jason, Reid, Caleb, Jack, Sora, and I were the ones carrying the trays while the triplets, Rocco, Ella and Cassie were dashing around and generally having a good time. Such is the spell of the beach day. When we got back to our spot on the beach, food was set down and set out, and everybody gathered up and ate. Once we were all finished with our meals, we took an hour to build sandcastles and nap, etc, in order to avoid cramps. As I was finishing building a sandcastle with Rocco and Ella, Candy ran up to me.

“Hey Ash, there’s something I forgot to tell you earlier. You’ll never guess what it is.” she exclaimed, extremely excited about whatever news she had.

“You got an invite to a beauty pageant?” I asked, thinking about what could possibly get her this excited.

“Nope!”

“Going on a tropical cruise?”

“Not even close.”

“Getting into a cool private school?”

“Nuh-uh.”

“I give up. What’s got you so excited, Candy?” 

She grabbed me and grinned. “Ash, I’m moving. And you’ll never guess where!” she shook me a bit.

“Next door to me?” I joked, shrugging.

“How’d you know?” she asked, backing off a bit.

“It was a joke. The house next door to mine was on sale for a bit, and now it’s been sold for half the summer. But I guess you know that.” I cracked a smile, and she grinned wider. 

“Yeah, that’s where I’m moving. That’s why I got so excited when you told me where you lived.” We shared a laugh, both remembering her little freakout when I told her where I lived via Skype. That made a lot more sense now. 

“So, when are you moving?” I asked. “If you’re just now telling me, it’s gotta be in a while.”

“Not at all. I’m actually moving today!” she grinned at me. “Ash, I’m gonna be able to see you every day!” 

“Yeah, that’s gonna be fun.” I smiled with her, glad to be able to continue the friendship (and romance?) that I’d started over the summer. “I’m gonna be able to bug you all year, as opposed to a few times a month.” 

Our moment was ruined by Caleb charging up, tripping over a piece of driftwood, and taking me out with him. As I got up off my back, Caleb climbing off of me, I saw Candy and Jack laughing. I was annoyed at first, but, looking back, I was able to laugh at the whole scenario. 

By that time, bodysurfing was once again in order, and we charged back down to the surf to swim again. Lots of fun was had, and before we knew it, the time to leave had arrived. As Jack, the Graham Group, and I packed up, Candy hurried back to her old house to catch the ‘last ride’ to the neighborhood we lived in, commonly called “the village”. The ride home was primarily uneventful, except that I kept pondering my dream. It was still vivid in my mind, and that was exceptionally rare, even for memories. I couldn’t help but brood. Caleb seemed so… well, collected was the wrong word, but sane. But according to my dream, if I died, Caleb would go berserk. And Jack would literally go insane, seeing me ‘return’ over and over again. I had no idea what would happen to Candy or Ally if I died, but I didn’t want to find out. By this time, we were about home, and I got ready to get out.


End file.
